J.K. Rowling: Sorry I killed off Remus Lupin

By Michael Pearson, CNN

Updated 2:52 PM ET, Mon May 2, 2016

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Photos:'Harry Potter': Where are they now?

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the first film in the eight-part franchise, was released in 2001. The movie series wrapped 10 years later with the second part of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." With a highly anticipated movie spinoff, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," due in theaters in 2016, we check in with some of Hogwarts' most memorable students.

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Photos:'Harry Potter': Where are they now?

In 2014, Daniel Radcliffe proved on "The Tonight Show" that his talents go far beyond acting; Radcliffe's also a pretty great rapper. The "Harry Potter" star appeared in 2015's Judd Apatow comedy "Trainwreck" and has four movies scheduled for 2016 -- including one in which he plays late GOP strategist Lee Atwater.

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Since portraying sharp witch Hermione in the "Harry Potter" series, Emma Watson has broken away from the supernatural with roles grounded in the (mostly) real world. After "My Week With Marilyn," "The Perks of Being A Wallflower" and "The Bling Ring," she showed her sense of humor in Seth Rogen's outlandish summer comedy "This Is the End." She announced in February that she's taking a break from acting.

By the time the "Potter" movies wrapped, Matthew Lewis -- and his character, Neville Longbottom -- had morphed into quite the charming young man. He initially migrated over to TV for a spell with "The Syndicate" and "Bluestone 42."

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Just enough time has passed for us to stop cringing at the sight of Tom Felton, who came to be known as the weakling bully Draco Malfoy. Even while working on the "Potter" franchise, Felton dabbled in other films, like "The Disappeared" and "Get Him to the Greek." Felton has been busy since "Potter" wrapped, and he appeared in the World War II movie "Ghosts of the Pacific" and the TNT cop drama "Murder in the First."

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Bonnie Wright began playing Ginny Weasley at age 10, and since leaving the franchise, she has been on a steady diet of dramas. Wright appeared in "The Philosophers," followed by "Before I Sleep" with Tom Sizemore.

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The brothers who played the elder Weasleys -- George and Fred -- don't have the trademark ginger hair anymore, but they're still recognizable as the prankster pair. James and Oliver Phelps are still happy to talk all things "Potter," even as they move on to other endeavors. James has been active on stage, and Oliver has been traveling in support of his website, JopWorld.com.

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Evanna Lynch's Luna Lovegood showed up halfway through the "Potter" saga, but her character was so wonderfully strange she's easily among the most memorable. And if there's anyone who's eager for the "Harry Potter" spinoff films, it's Lynch: "Maybe 'Fantastic Beasts' will turn into a long ting like HP did & I can play Luna as an old lady?" she tweeted. "Even if I'm too old to play Luna, can I go through 10 hours prosthetics to play a crumple-horned-snorkack. Please??"

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Devon Murray's Seamus Finnigan was an easy character to love, and fans have missed seeing Murray (and hearing his accent) on the big screen. Murray has not appeared in movies since the last Potter film but assured a supporter from his unverified Twitter account in September 2013 that he's "been offered a lead role in a new movie so could be seeing my mug soon :)"

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Jamie Waylett's Vincent Crabbe appeared in the first half of the franchise, and life post-"Potter" hasn't been so easy for the actor. In May 2012 he was sentenced to two years in jail for his participation in the 2011 London riots.

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"I didn't enjoy doing it," Rowling writes of Lupin's death

It's the third time she's used May anniversary of fictional Battle of Hogwarts to mourn

(CNN)In what's become an annual tradition for "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, she took the occasion of the fictional anniversary of the "Battle of Hogwarts" Monday to mourn the death of a character.

This year, it was Remus Lupin, the werewolf wizard who died fighting the evil Lord Voldemort and his minions.

"Arthur lived, so Lupin had to die," Rowling tweeted, referring to another character, Arthur Weasley, who survived the fight.

"I'm sorry. I didn't enjoy doing it.The only time my editor ever saw me cry was over the fate of Teddy," she wrote, referring to Lupin's infant son with fellow wizard Nymphadora Tonks.

Rowling killed off both in the climactic battle to defeat Voldemort, leaving Teddy orphaned.

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Arthur lived, so Lupin had to die. I'm sorry. I didn't enjoy doing it. The only time my editor ever saw me cry was over the fate of Teddy. 😢

Rowling, in Lupin's character sketch on her website Pottermore, called the werewolf wizard one of her favorite characters in all of the Potter stories.

"Lupin's condition of lycanthropy (being a werewolf) was a metaphor for those illnesses that carry a stigma, like HIV and AIDS," she wrote. "All kinds of superstitions seem to surround blood-borne conditions, probably due to taboos surrounding blood itself. The wizarding community is as prone to hysteria and prejudice as the Muggle one, and the character of Lupin gave me a chance to examine those attitudes."

Plenty of fans would seem to agree with Rowling's love for Lupin, who was played in the movies by actor David Thewlis.

While Rowling isn't saying the deaths were mistakes -- although many have drawn ire from fans who fell in love with various characters -- she has acknowledged there are things she would have changed in the stories.